Each year, Riot Fest attracts 40,000 to 50,000 non-residents into the reluctant North Lawndale neighborhood. But for the Latino shoegaze band, Almost There But Not Really (ATBNR), Douglass Park is practically home.
Co-founders Jay Sanchez (vocals, guitar) and Armando (guitar) met in the press area after their set to talk about the moment. As close as the festival is to home, it’s still a journey to get here.
Playing Riot Fest has been a goal since Armando was a teen. In 2013, single-day tickets for Riot Fest were roughly $50 -70. Armando attended a Title 1 school where most students, including him and his brothers, received free lunch. But because the school didn’t explain this arrangement to his parents, they kept giving Armando $20 a week for lunch, which he typically spent on French fries and soda. When he heard Pixies were headlining, he figured out a way to afford the ticket.
Grinning proudly, he recalls, “I stopped eating French fries for three months so I could go to Riot Fest. So, [I said] Fuck it, I’ll go to Riot Fest.”
Now, years later, Pixies are in the same lineup as ATBNR. That full-circle moment would not be possible if it wasn’t for the bravery of his parents. Armando shared how his dad pulled himself out of school before the 6th grade to work and support his younger siblings. Then, after he got married and had a child (Armando’s brother), the three of them immigrated from Mexico to a basement in Chicago, where he worked in the steel mills in the Pullman neighborhood.
During the performance, Armando gave a shout-out to his family who “went through all that shit so I could be here today and play guitar for you guys. Shout out to immigrants.”
Playing at Riot Fest also wouldn’t have been possible without support from fans throughout the city and beyond. To state the obvious, shoegaze isn’t historically known to draw large crowds in the Latino community, but that’s exactly why it’s working.
Sanchez steps in to explain their appeal, “Seeing a Latino, Mexican face out there is important. I think we have a lot of fans who are from this area that we really vibe with.”
Armando adds, “We want to acknowledge that there are many active, phenomenal Latino shoegaze bands from Latin American countries, like Mint Field – whom we opened for at Schubas in March – and Terraplana. There are also many phenomenal shoegaze bands with Latino members in the United States. But some bands choose not to lead with or always highlight their Latino background, preferring to be identified by their music/aesthetic alone. We respect this. As for our own music and aesthetic, our identities were deeply shaped by our roots in Chicago’s historically Latino working-class neighborhoods, where there are very few white people. This is important to us, and we want to put it forward.”
Fans are willing to travel for that familiarity and sense of community. On several occasions, a max-capacity crowd has packed the Empty Bottle on a Monday night. It’s a hike from the south and southwest sides of the city, but people make the effort. Cafe Mustache, The Burlington, and other venues have hosted as well. No matter where they play, fans show up to get lost in their dreamy soundscape.
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ATBNR’s immersive sound reflects the band members’ personalities. Armando and Amanda Cornelio (bass) are introverts who use big pedal boards to broaden their voice. Armando combines big reverb with Ben Smith’s heavy, punchy drums to drive a wall of sound that Sanchez pushes against with his towering vocals.
“I’m a big Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) kind of fan,” Armando reflects on past influences. “So, I’m just laying a bunch of guitars, like 10 or 12 guitars. I have a Walrus Fathom Reverb. It’s not a shoegaze pedal, but it has a three-way toggle switch that modulates the reverb. I set it on high, and it sounds very ethereal, very shoegaze.”
While Armando reasons he can never truly leave Chicago, ATBNR recently left home to play at the Kalamashoegazer Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Armando laughs, “Before we even started, we sold merch! How do you know if we sound good?”
Back home, the band is setting its sights on expanding further. Sanchez reports that their second-biggest streaming audience is Mexico City, followed by L.A., Texas, or “anywhere there’s a strong Latino base – they find us. And also Germany.”
Sanchez shares, “Someone in Germany asked us if they could use our song for their podcast. It’s all in German so I don’t know what they’re saying. Our plans are to write new music, get to the studio and see where we can take this afterwards. For us, this is just the start.”
On Friday, the Riot Fest crowd was a mix of fans and curious watchers. Sanchez recalls the moment he addressed them wearing his Benito Juarez Community Academy T-shirt.
“It was important to me to shout out to the community and the people behind us who got us to this point, especially when it’s our own backyard. It’s a big deal to us. [This performance] was a love letter to our audience for uplifting us to get where we are now. Honestly, it felt magical to see the audience so receptive. It’s a dream come true, but along the way, I think you have to play every show like it’s sold out or like it’s Riot Fest.”
Julie Simmons is a Chicago-based music journalist and founder of Music Makes You Think, whose work highlights emerging artists and established performers. She also likes to drum for fun.
